Good Riddance, September

 I'm not even sure where to start with trying to reecap the month of September.  This was meant to be my month to Prepare.  And for a while I was making pretty good progress.

I was getting my house in order to prepare for my knee surgery in October. Getting things cleaned and organized. Decorating for Autumn. Things weren't moving along quite as quickly as I hoped, but I was happy with the progress I was making.

Then we got to the last week of September...

On the afternoon of September 25th, it began raining.   Over the next twenty-four hours, the area of North Carolina where I live received record rainfall.  Some areas were flooding.  It was a bit of a mess. But that wasn't the big problem.
The big problem was that Hurricane Helene was about to make landfall in Florida and head our way.  It's path was just west of us, putting us on the east side if the storm where the heaviest rainfall occurs.  Rain we didn't need on top of what had just fallen.

It rained throughout the day of the 26th. And in the early morning hours of Friday, September 27th, Helene unleashed her fury on our mountains.  It was worse than we could have imagined.

In our immediate neighborhood, trees and power lines are down.  We have no power, no water, and no internet service. Part of our road has washed away, but is fortunately still passable. Cell phone service is extremely spotty and virtually nonexistent at my house. I'm posting this while sitting in a parking lot where I was able to find a signal.

As crazy as things are for us right now, we are considering ourselves fortunate.   Our home isn't flooded and doesn't have a tree through the roof. We have been in touch with family to determine that everyone is OK. We've been able to cook some on the grill and a propane burner. We have been able to get out and get some more bottled water and some groceries. 

So many others in the area are suffering much more than we are right now. Homes have washed away or been destroyed by landlides and falling trees. Lives have been lost.  I don't think is possible to overstate how much this area is hurting.

Thankful Thursday: September 26, 2024

 

I Am Thankful For:

My dog had a good check-up

Pumpkin loaf

Lipstick

Crossing several things off my to-do list

Homemade soup

Being able to laugh at myself

A new stove

Texting with my daughter

Apple pie

Leaves falling outside my window

Football and snacks

A slow cooker full of chili

Starting over

Freshly painted nails

Sunday Inspiration: Autumn

Thankful Thursday: September 19, 2024

 

I Am Thankful For:

Knowing what to expect next

Appointment scheduled sooner than expected

A glass of wine

Talks with my sister

Goodies from my cousin in Canada

A short visit with my grandson

Going out to dinner with my husband and son

Baking a cake

Rainy days

Autumn decor

Time to read

Productive days

Prepare

September is typically a quiet month for me.  I know, I already mentioned that in my "Hello, September" post.  I also talked about how I plan to use this month to take care of some things before the last three always-busy months of the year begin. 

That's why I have chosen PREPARE as my word for September.

I will be preparing my Etsy for a reopening.  I'm hoping to have it ready to by the first week in October. I'm creating a new logo, a new heading for the shop, Facebook and the shop blog. I'm taking new product photos.  And all the other little details that need to be taken care of before I can declare it to be back in business.

I'm preparing the house for the fall holidays.  This mostly involves packing away all the little summer touches that have been on display for the past 4 months and putting out all my pumpkins and other fall decor.  The fall accents will be around until the end of November/beginning of December when we decorate for Christmas.

I'm trying to prepare meal ideas for football Sundays.  My usual go-to meals of chili or Gumbo are going to be making less frequent appearances thanks to my GERD. I'm looking for some easy meals that are comforting, but less irritating to my delicate system. Even better if they can go in the slow cooker. (Any ideas?)  

I also want to prepare myself for the last quarter of 2024.  I'm hoping to have some definitive answers about what needs done for my knee and prepare for that to take place before the end of the year. 

What are you doing to prepare for the rest of 2024?

 

Sunday Inspiration: Value

 

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Thankful Thursday: September 12, 2024

 

I Am Thankful For:

Ice cream

Pumpkin Spice coffee

A beautiful fall-like day

Getting my yearly vaccines

Football Sunday

White chili

Root beer floats

Appointment scheduled

Cute videos of grandson

Candy corn

The peace of not engaging

Finding a new (to me) podcast to listen to 

Sunday Inspiration: What are you living?

Thankful Thursday: September 5, 2024

 

I Am Thankful For:

Air conditioning

My little dog playing while wearing the cone

Apple pancakes with vanilla ice cream

Werthers Maple Creams

Afternoon thunderstorms

Hanging out with my husband

Afternoon nap

Homegrown tomatoes

A quiet day

My husband making a smoothie for me

Steaks cooked on the grill

My dog's eye is better

Learning skills for the future

Hello, September

It's here!!  September has finally arrived!  Fair warning - I am breaking out ALL the Autumn-ness.  Yes, I know it's technically still summer until later this month.  But I have been stifling the urge for all things pumpkin for the past couple of weeks. So, now that it's September, I am letting it run wild. 

September is always a quiet month for us.  We don't have any immediate family birthdays this month.  And no major holidays.  It's the quiet before the storm.  A shirt break before the months that are jam packed with our birthdays, anniversary, and the holidays begin.

With that in mind, I plan to use this month to Prepare for the upcoming months.  That's why I have chosen Prepare as my word for September.  It's time to take care of some things before life potential gets crazy during the last three months of the year. 

The only books on my Reading list for September are "Tangled Hearts" by Sara McClaflin and "Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone" by Benjamin Stevenson.  I am taking part in the virtual book tour for "Tangled Hearts". "Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone" is our book club selection for September.  After that, I'm going to do a little mood reading and open whatever my little book heart desires.  

My big project for September is getting my Etsy shop ready to reopen next month. I'm switching up my business model just a little. And hoping I can avoid the stress and anxiety it was causing me when I shut things down a year ago

My Goals for September:

• Decorate the house for Autumn
• Prepare Etsy shop for reopening in October 

What are your plans for September?

Sunday Inspiration: September